Indian athletes Dhanalakshmi Sekar, Aishwarya Babu fail dope test, ruled out of CWG 2022

Indian athletes S Dhanalakshmi and Aishwarya Babu have been ruled out of the upcoming Commonwealth Games 2022 (CWG 2022) after failing a dope test. The duo were a part of the 36-member Indian athletics contingent for CWG 2022.

Dhanalakshmi was part of the 4x100 meters relay team along with Dutee Chand, Hima Das and Srabani Nanda. She was also to take part in the 100 meters event.

Aishwarya Babu is a national record holder in the triple jump.

Read: India at CWG 2022: Full list of Indian athletes who have qualified for Commonwealth Games 2022 (Updated)

Dhanalakshmi's dope test returned positive for a banned steroid. The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) of World Athletics took Dhanalakshmi's out-of-competition sample only to find anabolic steroids in the sample. NADA have also taken Dhanalakshmi's sample and the results are yet to be out.

Meanwhile, Aishwarya's sample was taken by NADA officials during the National Inter-State Athletics Championships in Chennai last month.

Dope test results a big blow for Indian athletes

Dhanalakshmi was also named in the Indian team for the ongoing World Athletics Championships in Eugene but failed to make it to the event due to visa issues.

The sprinter recorded a personal best time of 22.89 seconds to win the gold medal in the 200 meters category at the Qosanov Memorial Athletics Meet in Almaty, Kazakhstan, on June 26. She became only the third Indian woman to run sub-23 seconds after national record holder Saraswati Saha (22.82 seconds) and Hima Das (22.88 seconds).

She also made headlines by defeating Dutee Chand and Hima Das, touted to be the fastest sprinters in the 100 meters and 200 meters events.

Aishwarya Babu broke the triple jump national record in June this year with a stunning effort of 14.14 meters. She became the talk of the town at the National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships (June 10-14) in Chennai, where she broke an 11-year old record created by Mayookha Johny. Mayookha had lept 14.11 meters then.

The Commonwealth Games 2022 commence in Birmingham on July 28.